EUGENIE JONES: Good Manners Prevail at Gyms, Too

Does the rudeness you experience on any given day lead you to conclude that good manners are anachronistic throw backs of times gone by?

Rather than viewing common courtesy as juxtaposition to incivility, many view being polite as unimportant, as an option that they can forgo.

In contrast, if we actually showed concern for those around us, we might do things like, oh heck I don’t know, maybe say thank you when someone paused to hold a door open for us?

Maybe we’d acknowledge kindness by extending a wave and smile to the driver who steps on the brake, allowing us merge into traffic. Or, and this is really stretching, sales clerks — when taking a customer’s money — might even say something really outlandish like, “thank you for your patronage.”

While these examples may sound like wishful thinking, I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that most of us would agree that it’s important to extend to others the courtesy we’d like to receive ourselves and what better place to exercise this golden rule than at our friendly, neighborhood gym?

Differentiate yourself from the prevailing, pervasive rudeness that threatens to overtake us all — ok, a little thick — how about doing it just to avoid annoying the rest of us. It’s easy, just

LEAVE THE SCENT AT HOME

This could be taken a couple of ways, but believe it or not the complaint I receive emails about most often is in regards to fragrances as opposed to body odor. Not that body odor is preferred, but more people seem to be unaware of how nauseating it can be to inhale someone’s perfume or cologne while trying to work out. Nothing engages the gag reflex more than feeling a layer of perfume on your throat or in your mouth because you have the annoying habit of needing to breathe when working out. Keep in mind too that many people have allergies and while your perfume may be the best thing in the world to you it’s an opinion that won’t be shared by most people working out around you. The most courteous thing you can do is to use simple soap and water before your workout and leave the fragrances at home in the bottle.

DON’T LEAVE BEHIND IMPRINTS OF YOUR REAR END

Gross. There’s nothing more disgusting than walking up to a piece of equipment and being greeted by a puddle of sweat left behind by the previous user. (I always imagine that this is the same person who leaves their underwear on the bathroom floor when they shower at home.) It’s not only unsanitary to leave behind sweaty imprints, it’s also extremely inconsiderate. Most gyms have bacteria-fighting towelettes available to wipe down equipment and cut down on the spread of germs and sweaty residues. If you’d prefer to not gross people out, just remember five words: your mother doesn’t work here so clean up behind yourself. Ok, so 10.

PUTTING THINGS BACK WHERE YOU GOT ’EM

There aren’t many things more annoying during your workout than having to return someone else’s weights to the rack. Bench presses, squats, smith machine, whatever the equipment, allow the person exercising after you the safety of a cleared area and the convenience of starting with a clean slate by returning your weight plates.

SHARE WITH OTHERS

When the gym is busy, the last thing you want to do is to be thought of as an equipment hog. Avoid that shadow being cast by allowing others to work in between your weight sets. You also can play nice with others by honoring the 30-minute time limit signs posted near popular cardio equipment.

And, if your workout calls for using more than one piece of weight equipment at once, super-setting, try to workout during off-hours or at least be prepared to let others use the equipment with you.

Taken as a whole, gym etiquette is nothing more than giving thought to how our actions affect others. This consideration, combined with a few gym etiquette practices, will go a long way toward making everyone’s workout a more pleasant experience. At the very least, you’ll help dispel the myth that good manners are merely fond anachronisms of days gone by.